JEDDAH: Hundreds of Jet Airways passengers in Riyadh and Jeddah on Tuesday crowded the offices of India’s private international carrier and travel agencies to know the fate of their travel in the wake of the sudden strike by the airline’s pilots.

“I had reconfirmed my family bookings for Wednesday by Jet Airways from Jeddah to Mumbai, but now the cancellation of the flight has inconvenienced them all,” Abdul Aziz Kindy, a passenger told Arab News. “I now have to look for their bookings on other airlines, which means the postponement by at least a day.”

“My family was heading for an important family function and now cannot reach in time,” said Kalim Ansari, who came from Makkah to see off his family. “The pilots’ strike (caused by the sacking of two pilots for starting a new union) has been sudden and we are all caught unawares,” a Jet Airways official told Arab News.

“We are meeting the unexpected situation by accommodating our passengers on India’s national carrier Air India, Saudi Arabian Airlines or other international carriers heading Mumbai. We have also conveyed to them that they may seek a refund of their fares if they like. However, a number of them are accepting our endorsements on other airlines.” Scores of flights within India and overseas were canceled for the day.

Speaking late Tuesday night, the airline official said there were clear indications that the airline would restore its normalcy by Thursday. “We learn from our office in Mumbai that our flights are now open for sale, which means our bookings for 1 a.m. on Thursday stay. In that case, we will also give priority to those who were scheduled to fly at 1 a.m. on Wednesday.” Jet Airways operates to Mumbai Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a configuration of 120 Economy Class and 24 Business Class seats daily from Jeddah and four times a week from Riyadh.

The last Jet Airways flights left King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh at 8 p.m. on Monday and King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah at 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

The official said the Bombay High Court Tuesday restrained the striking pilots from agitating. Jet Airways had moved a petition before the high court seeking an order restraining the National Aviators’ Guild (NAG) — a union of some Jet Airways pilots — from resorting to any form of strike. Accepting the carrier’s contention, the Bombay High Court passed an order barring any form of strike by the pilots.

Jet Airways in a statement said, “As per the directions of the regional labor commissioner, Jet Airways has been in a conciliation process with the pilots. The regional labor commissioner had categorically stated that any strike by the pilots during this pendency of conciliation, would be deemed an illegal act, as per the Industrial Disputes Act....”

The NAG has been asking the carrier to take back two pilots sacked last month. NAG President Girish Kaushik said the guild had issued the mandatory 14-day notice to the airline, and added the sacking of the two pilots was an act of vendetta for being instrumental in starting a new union and it was totally unjustified.

The two sacked pilots, Balaraman and Sam Thomas, were told of termination of their service by e-mail.